Central College's 18-point Triumph Gives Fit's Folliard Fits

January 2, 1986|By Creig Ewing of the Sentinel Staff

The Florida Institute of Technology basketball tournament this weekend was supposed to have been a brisk workout for FIT -- a way to stay in shape for the Sunshine State Conference games that begin next week.

All that changed with Monday's loss to Central College of Iowa.

The Panthers seemed as if they were going to be a serious conference championship contender, rolling along with a record of 6-2 (6-0 at home), including a victory over Division I Dartmouth. But the 82-64 flooring by Division III Central Iowa stunned Coach Tom Folliard.

Now he isn't even sure if FIT will make a decent sparring partner for Sunshine State heavyweights Tampa and Florida Southern.

''We just played terrible in every phase of the game,'' Folliard said.

FIT had been raising some eyebrows among fellow Sunshine State Conference schools and seemed to stand a good chance of reaching its goal for the season -- being one of the four teams in the conference tournamant.

''After reading the Central College score, people's opinions of us might return to past years,'' Folliard said. ''But Central Iowa is a good team. Nobody knows how good they are. They play a couple more teams Rollins and Eckerd in the area. I want to see those scores.''

Folliard's job now is to get the loss out of his thoughts and concentrate on the tournament. But he is finding it difficult. The loss really shook him. Previously FIT had lost to only two Division I schools -- Florida State and Mercer -- and things seemed to be going just as planned. Now Folliard isn't sure how much of a fluke the loss was, and making the conference tournament doesn't look quite so easy.

''It's still certainly a possibility, but if we play like we did Monday again, it's a possibility that we might become a doormat again,'' he said.

Folliard said that FIT will have to rebound and win its tournament against Division II schools Bentley (Mass.) College, Southeastern Massachusetts and Illinois Institute of Technology to prove its ability to play in the Sunshine State.

If the Panthers can't win their own tournament, it doesn't bode well for FIT's Sunshine State opener at home Wednesday against Tampa. ''If we don't win we won't be ready,'' he said.

Still, Folliard only has to remember last year, his first at the school, to know that things really aren't that bad.

''We started off 0-4 last year,'' he said. ''We probably should be 7-2 going into the tournament, but 6-3 is not bad.''

George Leonard, a 6-foot-5 forward/center, is a key to the Panthers' success and the only senior in the starting lineup. He is averaging 23 points per game and 7.5 rebounds.

Leonard was the conference player of the week two weeks ago after scoring 31 points against Florida State. But he looked mortal against Central Iowa, scoring 20 points before fouling out.

Those numbers are a little comforting to Folliard. With numbers like those maybe the Central Iowa loss was just a fluke after all.

FIT will get a chance to put it all behind them at 8 p.m. Friday when it plays Southeastern Massachusetts at the FIT gym. Bentley and Illinois Tech open the tournament at 6. Saturday the losers play at 6 p.m. and the championship will be at 8.

''I can't wait to get to practice and correct as much as possible,'' Folliard said. ''I think mentally there is nothing ever good to be gained from a loss, but maybe this will make us player harder.

''We've got an awful lot of work to get accomplished before we play Tampa.''